Samhain
by PurpleBeanbagProductions
Summary: With Halloween fast approaching, Jack and Jamie are excited to meet the spirit of Halloween. But is she friend or foe?
1. Chapter 1 - Who's There?

"…and he was never seen again!"

The boy adjusted his glasses and waited for a response. Nothing.

"Monty, that wasn't even scary!" exclaimed Caleb.

"Yeah, it didn't even make sense," agreed Claude.

Monty sighed dejectedly as Pippa patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"Well you come up with something better!" he challenged.

"Alright, alright. This is totally true!" began Claude.

"It happened to our neighbour's cousin," continued Caleb.

"Well then it _must_ be true," mumbled Monty to no one in particular.

"Shhh!" hushed Jamie, turning back to the twins. "What happened?"

"Well", continued Claude. "He was in his room when he heard it. _Tap tap tap._ Three knocks. He looked around, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. _Tap tap tap._ There it was again! He thought it was somebody knocking on the other side of the room, but there was no one else home! _Tap tap tap_. There it was again! He suddenly realised it wasn't coming from the wall, it was coming from…" Claude paused for dramatic effect and moved the torch under his chin, lighting his face eerily. "…the _mirror_!"

"So what happened?" asked Jamie, leaning forward in anticipation. Caleb snatched the torch from his brother and continued the story.

"He went up to the mirror…" whispered Caleb. The other kids leaned forward eagerly, except Monty, who started trembling anxiously. "He looked into the mirror, got _real_ close with his hands pressed up against the glass and everything and—"

The tent zipper suddenly opened.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" screamed the kids, clutching at each other fearfully. Jamie's mum stood up in fright.

"Sorry kids," she said, recovering from her own surprise. "I didn't mean to startle you like that."

"Mum, please don't _ever_ do that again," exclaimed Jamie.

"Come on now, it's time you all went home. You've got school in the morning you know. And there's still plenty of time before Halloween to tell all your ghost stories.

The kids reluctantly crawled out of the tent and said their goodbyes.

* * *

"Goodnight mum!" called Pippa, closing her bedroom door. She looked at the mirror on her dresser, the twin's story still swirling around her head. What had happened at the end? She sighed. Normally she didn't think anything of ghost stories, but since meeting Jack and the other Guardians Pippa was a little more open-minded.

"I guess I'll get them to tell me the rest at school tomorrow," she thought aloud, sitting down in front of the mirror. _Three knocks huh._ She reached up and gentle tapped her knuckle against the glass three times, then waited. Nothing happened. _Totally true, yeah right._ Pippa stood up, turned out the lights and climbed into her bed.

 _Tap tap tap._

Pippa froze. Slowly, she pushed the blankets off her legs and turned the lights back on, then crept over to her dresser and looked into the mirror. There was nothing unusual, just her wide-eyed face staring back at her. Hesitantly, Pippa reached up and tapped on the glass three times. Waited. Nothing.

"Maybe I just imagined it?" she thought to herself, straightening up and walking back to her bed.

 _Tap tap tap._

Pippa spun around. This time she saw a flash of orange in the mirror. She looked around the room, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. And certainly nothing orange. Moving back to the mirror Pippa tapped on the glass four times, then turned around and waited.

 _Tap tap tap tap._

Pippa slowly turned around and stared at the mirror, her jaw hanging open. She was definitely going to have a good story to tell the others tomorrow!


	2. Chapter 2 - Candy

"Woohoooooo!"

The boy hurtled through the night sky. He fell a few feet, then caught an updraught that propelled him higher, before half-gliding, half-free falling until he hit the next updraught. He let the wind fling him forwards towards a nearby roof, slid down the slanted tiles, and then pushed off at the last minute, letting the wind carry him to the next roof. He ran across the tiles, letting his crook drag behind him leaving a trail of ice in his wake. He swung the crook around sharply, sending ice crystals shooting up the phone wire, which he slid across, coming to a stop at the top of the telephone pole. He took a deep breath of the cool night air.

"Now _that_ was fun" sighed Jack. He became aware of a high-pitched chirping, and looked around at the houses below him. Sure enough, Jack saw the tiny Tooth Fairies flitting from house to house, collecting teeth and leaving coins for the sleeping children. Suddenly, a familiar Fairy darted across the roof he had just left coated in ice.

"Baby Tooth!" called Jack happily. Baby Tooth looked around, then fluttered up to him. She nuzzled his shoulder affectionately, then hovered around in front of his face. Several other Fairies joined her; one looked as though she may faint at any moment.

"Working hard I see," grinned Jack. Baby Tooth chirped proudly, and the other Fairies tittered in agreement. "Glad to hear it. Tooth will be proud of you…what's wrong?". As he mentioned the Fairy Queen, the other Fairies all seemed to droop slightly, their wings fluttering anxiously. "What, did something happen to her?"

The Fairies all faltered and exchanged nervous glances. Finally, Baby Tooth chirped loudly. The other Fairies hesitated, and then went back to collecting teeth. Baby Tooth flew off into the air, and Jack jumped up after her.

"Hey! Baby Tooth, wait up!" he called. 

* * *

When Jack and Baby Tooth arrived at the North Pole, they found it buzzing with activity. Jack closed the window they had come through and smiled in awe at the scene before him. Shiney mirrored baubles of every size hung from the ceiling, reflecting the light of floating lanterns. Rainbow confetti filled the air, sent swirling away by passing planes and helicopters. Some Yetis were carefully painting finishing touches onto dolls and trucks, while others tested out musical instruments, adjusting strings and polishing bells. There were Yetis were running back and forward carrying armfuls of boxes and ribbons. Jack ducked between two Yetis, only to step into the path of a third, who walked straight into Jack, sending him stumbling backwards as papers scattered to the ground.

"Ooops, sorry about that Phil," Jack grinned apologetically. Phil groaned in frustration, bending to pick up the papers, and shooing away elves who were trying to help collect the pages, but ending up ripping most of them in their enthusiasm.

"Come on, come on! Only 8 weeks until Christmas!" North's voice boomed. Jack leaned over the railing and spied North striding through the chaos, while elves scrambled out of his way. Jack thought he could hear Tooth's voice coming from above him, and he and Baby Tooth made their way upstairs.

"…and the holes! They're everywhere! Tiny little holes in their precious little teeth. It's like they're not even brushing them! It makes me so mad!"

They found the Fairy Queen pacing up and down angrily in front of the Globe.

 _Well, as much as you can pace hovering six feet in the air_ , thought Jack. Sandy and Bunny stood back watching her. Jack wandered over to Sandy and Bunny, with Baby Tooth perched on his shoulder.

"Umm, what's gotten into Tooth?" he asked, his eyes followed the Fairy's frenetic movements. As she got more and more worked up, her wings moved faster and faster until they were nothing but a blur of pink and green. Sandy showed Jack a series of sand pictures in rapid succession, leaving Jack completely confused.

"Yeah, no idea what you just said, but thanks for trying," Jack said awkwardly. Sandy huffed in annoyance.

"Candy," said Bunny shortly.

"Candy? What's so bad about candy?" asked Jack, and immediately wished he hadn't as Tooth rounded on him.

"What's so bad about _candy_?" snapped Tooth. "What's so _bad?_ Apart from all the sugar, the cavities, the rotten teeth. And the _amount_ of it! Who needs to eat that much sugar in one go? It's ridiculous! And every year, she just keeps giving them more!"

"She?"

"Candy!" screeched Tooth furiously. Jack shrank back from her, surprised by the tiny Fairy's rage. Baby Tooth bravely flitted forwards and chirped quickly.

"No I will not calm down!" Tooth shrieked even louder. Baby Tooth retreated quickly to the safety of Jack's hood.

"Okay, I'm completely lost. Will someone please tell me what's going on here?" Jack asked, turning back to Sandy and Bunny.

"Candy, she is…mmm…Spirit of Halloween," answered North, walking over to join them.

"Really? I've never seen her before. I've never even _heard_ of her. What's she like?" asked Jack, his curiosity piqued. The other Guardians exchanged glances.

"She's irritating, she's mischievous, she's… she's…" Tooth tried to think of exactly _what_ Candy was and, coming up short, let out a shriek of frustration.

"Now now Tooth, don't get your feathers in a twist," placated Bunny. Jack looked around suddenly, sure he'd seen a flash of orange out the corner of his eye. He looked up at the mirrored baubles above him, his own distorted reflections staring back down at him. Jack started as he realised North was talking to him.

"…us have actually met her. She keep herself to herself. Only reason we know about her is because Man in Moon tell us," explained North.

"That and every year she plays a prank on Tooth," added Bunny.

"Prank? What kind of prank?" No sooner had the words left Jack's mouth than soft white clouds floated down from the baubles on the ceiling, covering Tooth in…

"Sugar? Sugar! Ahhh!" she screamed in anger, flapping her wings violently to rid them of the sweet white crystals. Jack bit back a laugh as Sandy and North tried to help Tooth brush away the sugar, and glanced back up at the baubles. This time, Jack was sure that one of the faces staring back down at him was not his own. It was definitely a girl's face, though it was impossible to say how old she was from the way the bauble stretched her face around. Jack swore he heard a quiet giggle.

"That's it!" shouted Tooth, sending the white crystals flying everywhere as she turned. "I've had it with that girl! If I ever find her I'll… I'll… Ahhh! I wish that Halloween never existed!"

Jack thought he heard a sharp gasp, then a moment later the baubles exploded. Jack and the others watched the tiny shards rain down to the ground in silence.


	3. Chapter 3 - Jack 'O' Lantern

_10_ _th_ _century Ireland_

* * *

In a darkened room, three children sat huddled against the cold in front of a fire. A young girl stood on an old wooden chair in front of them, the chair groaning as she shifted back and forth, enthusiastically recounting a story to her friends. Outside men and women were bustling around, repairing doors and shutters, bundling firewood and preparing food to last them over the freezing winter ahead. In the distance, the faint lowing of cattle being herded down from the summer pastures could be heard. But the children heard none of this, as they were so engrossed in the young girl's tale. She impatiently pushed back strands of long black hair that had escaped her braid. Her blue eyes shone brightly as she continued.

"…the Prince raised his sword, but the beast knocked it from his hands and sent it clattering to the ground. Then the beast POUNCED on him, pinning him to the ground. The Princess was _terrified_! She could only watch as…" the girl paused. The two older boys leaned forward, eager to hear the gory details, but the youngest girl looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

"She could only watch," the girl continued thoughtfully, "as the beast opened its jaws, rows and rows of jagged teeth ready to rip the Prince apart. She was so scared. She was terrified of the beast…but…but in that moment she realized the thing she was most afraid of was losing her love".

The two boys looked at each other in confusion, but the girl continued on.

"She crawled forward, grabbing up the fallen sword. Gathering her courage, the Princess charged the beast, and with a mighty cry," the girl lifted her arms above her head, holding an imaginary sword, "the Princess drove the sword into the beasts' HEART!" The girl drove her arms down, emphasizing her words. "The beast let out an ungodly howl, then fell to the ground, dead!"

"Was the Prince and Princess alright?" whispered the youngest girl hopefully.

"Yes, they both returned to their kingdom, spreading the news that the beast had finally been slain. A great festival was held in honour of the brave Prince and Princess, and they lived happily together for the rest of their lives". The little girl beamed.

"Aww, I liked the story better the way it was," complained the eldest boy, the younger boy nodding in agreement.

"Well it's my story, and I'll change it if I like. If you don't like it, then let's hear you tell one better!" she challenged.

"What are you young scallywags doing, eh?" came a gruff voice from the doorway. The children spun around, the youngest girl jumping up and hiding behind the older boy, clutching at his arm. The old man moved into the room, dropping his tattered bag by the door and pulling off his heavy travelling cloak, revealing ragged clothes underneath that had patches on their patches.

"Senan!" cried the older girl happily, bounding over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. He let out a gravelly laugh, then gently pushed her back.

"Ahh, Candice my girl, let's have a look at yer. I don't remember yer being so tall!".

"That's because I'm nine now," Candice said proudly. "Last time you saw me I was only seven".

"Nine already? I don't believe it? And Tomas and Oisin, just look at you two strapping young lads," Senan walked over to Tomas and Oisin, ruffling their hair. Oisin winced slightly. "And this must be little Niamh?" Senan smiled gently at the little girl, who was still hiding behind Tomas. "I remember when you were just a wee little thing sitting on yer mam's knee". The old man shuffled over to the chair in front of the fireplace, and slowly lowered himself into it with a grunt of effort.

"Have you got any new stories for us?" Candice blurted out suddenly.

"Always for you, my dear girl," he laughed heartily. Candice sat down on the floor, her back to the fire. Tomas and Oisin quickly sat next to her, with Niamh curling herself up on Tomas' lap.

"Alright, here's a story that I heard whilst I was roaming the lands up North a few months back. As you well know, Samhain is nearly upon us, which means the door to the Otherworld opens, just a touch. Just enough to let some of them some of them spirits and Fair Folk through. Well, I've heard tell of a foolish young boy who thought to meddle with the spirits. He hollowed out a turnip, and trapped the Devil himself inside it. The boy paraded the Devil around for all the town to see. You can imagine, the Devil was none too impressed with this boy, and when he was finally released he put a curse on the foolish young boy, trapping him in the pits of Hell. Now it's said that each Samhain night, when the Door opens, the foolish young boy's spirit is released, and he walks the land, terrorizing all that cross his path"

Niamh buried her face in Tomas' chest as the other three leaned forward, wide-eyed.

"But don't you fret, little one," continued the old man with a gentle smile. "It's said that if you carve a face onto a turnip, and place it outside yer house, the foolish young boy will believe it's that Devil come to get him, and flee in terror".

As Senan finished his tale, the door opened and a woman entered.

"I thought I saw you stumble into town, Senan. Don't you be telling those children such scary tales," chided the woman, "or they'll all be having night terrors tonight".

Outside the doorway, the shadows shifted, forming the semblance of a man.

"No please, continue," it whispered darkly.


	4. Chapter 4 - Mirror Mirror

After the incident at the North Pole, Tooth, Baby Tooth and Sandy had gone back to work, while Bunny stayed behind to help North sweep up the sugar and broken glass. Not wanting to get stuck with clean up duty, Jack quietly slipped out the window and headed back to Burgess. He wanted to tell Jamie and the others about Candy. They'd be excited to hear about her, and maybe Jack telling them would give her some believers. He knew how lonely it was not to be believed in, and wondered if any kids actually knew about her.

He grinned as he caught sight of Jamie's house, and dropped down to land silently on the window sill. He slowly pushed the window opened and jumped lightly to the floor.

"Jamie?" he called softly. "Jamie, you home?"

 _Guess not,_ he thought to himself. Jack stepped back out the window and jumped up onto the roof. It was surprisingly quiet in the street, but he could hear the laughs and shrieks of children nearby. He ran across the rooftops, following the sound until he reached Jamie's school.

"School? On a Friday night? That doesn't sound like fun at all!" Jack mused. He landed on the fence beside the basketball court and surveyed the scene. There were stalls set up in rows selling hot food, drinks, fairy floss, toffee apples, cupcakes decorated to look like zombies and monsters, and one particular stall that appeared to be selling terrifyingly realistic-looking candy 'worms'. Jack wondered to himself if they _were_ worms. Then he briefly considered exchanging them with actually worms, and chuckled to himself at the thought.

"Jack Jack Jack!"

Jack swung around at hearing his name, and his eyes came to rest on a small blonde girl wearing a tutu, fairy wings and bunny ears. He grinned and waved at her.

"Hey Sophie! How's it going? Love the costume; the ears are a great touch," he grinned. "Just like the Easter Bunny's".

"Bunny! Boing boing," she laughed, hopping around in a circle.

"Sophie, hunny, don't wander off like that!" chided Jamie's mum with a small sigh of relief. She walked over to Sophie and took the girl's hand firmly. "Come on, we'll go and get some fairy floss".

"Fairy!" she sang as she jumped up and down, flapping her free arm. Jack chuckled as he watched Sophie and her mum disappear into the crowd, then spread his arms out wide and let the wind throw him into the air. He scanned the crowds for any sign of Jamie or his friends, but couldn't find them anywhere.

A sudden burst of music caught Jack's attention. He noticed a couple of kids walk out of the hall nearby. As the door swung shut the music became a muted hum. Jack landed in front of the doors, and gently pushed it forwards, then clapped his hands over his ears and let it swing shut again. The music inside was turned up ridiculously loud, and the kids were shouting to be heard over the music and each other. The sound was unbearable.

Jack moved around the side of the building and tried to look through the window, but they had been covered with sheets of black paper to make it seem dark inside. Jack moved along the wall scanning the windows. He finally found a window where the corner of the paper was falling down, high up near the roof, and flew up to peer through it. From his limited range of vision Jack could see the hall had been decorated with fake spiders webs, spiders and bats. The lights were flashing on and off different colours, and the room was further illuminated by glowsticks and fake Jack 'O' Lanterns. All of the kids were wearing various homemade masks over their eyes, making it even harder for Jack to find Jamie. Jack scanned the vampires, monsters, princesses and animal masks. As he strained to see further into the hall, Jack finally spotted Jamie, dancing (if you could call it that) with Claude and Caleb. Jack tapped on the glass, then realized Jamie would never hear him over all the music. He looked around helplessly for something to gain the boys' attention and finding nothing turned back to the window. He blinked and pressed his face closer to the glass as he realized that Jamie had disappeared from his view. Claude and Caleb were still dancing though. Suddenly Jamie appeared just below him, getting a drink from the table below the window.

"Jamie!" Jack called, banging on the glass again. When Jamie didn't react Jack splayed his hand on the glass, frosting it over. Unfortunately, Jamie couldn't see the frost in the darkened room, but he still felt it, and shivered. He looked around in surprise, but still he didn't look up to where Jack was hovering. Then he disappeared again.

"Ah, come on, gimme a break here," groaned Jack, trying to find Jamie again through his limited range of sight.

"Jack?"

Jack turned suddenly at the voice below him, and saw Jamie running towards him, a blue and silver mask pushed up onto his forehead and a huge smile plastered on his face. Jack dropped down to the ground to meet him.

"Jack!" cried Jamie happily, wrapping his arms around the older boy's waist. "What are you doing here? I'm so glad to see you! What have you been doing? Is-"

"Woah woah, slow down there buddy. One question at a time, okay?" Jack ruffled the younger boy's hair fondly as Jamie let go of him.

"Sorry, I just didn't think I'd see you again so soon. I missed you".

"Yeah well, I just found out something, and I thought you'd be interested to know," smiled Jack.

"What is it?" asked Jamie, leaning forward eagerly.

"Did you know there was a spirit of Halloween?" asked Jack, genuinely curious.

"There is? What's he like? Is he like, really huge? Or or scary, like the Jack 'O' Lantern story?" Jamie stopped suddenly and looked up at Jack solemnly. _"Is_ it the Jack 'O' Lantern?" he whispered nervously.

Jack laughed at Jamie's serious tone. "No, no. _He_ is actually a she. Her name is Candy, but I'm afraid that's all I know. I've never met her. Well, I kind of did this morning when she made it rain sugar on Tooth-"

"She did _what?_ What did Tooth say?"

"Let's just say that Tooth isn't her biggest fan," said Jack, thinking back to how angry the Fairy Queen had been earlier. He'd never seen her get so worked up.

"Well, I hope that we can meet her. Thanks for telling me about her," Jamie smiled.

"No worries. Anything for my _first believer_ ," grinned Jack, nudging Jamie's shoulder playfully. Jamie beamed up at him.

"Jamie Bennett, there you are! We've been looking everywhere for you!" came an irritated voice behind them.

"Hey Pippa," Jack called back cheerfully.

"Jack!" she gasped in delight. "Hey guys, look, it's Jack!" The rest of the gang came around the corner, all calling out in delight at seeing Jack again. Jamie mentioned to them about Candy and Jack found himself again recounting what had happened earlier at the North Pole.

"I think I might know how to find her," exclaimed Pippa as Jack finished his story. "Come on!"

* * *

Jack and the kids all crowded into Pippa's bedroom.

"Remind me why we're in your bedroom again?" asked Claude, looking around the room dubiously.

"You haven't been keeping her in your wardrobe or something, have you?" joked Caleb, reaching out for the handle.

"Hey! Don't open that!" snapped Pippa irritably, pushing him away from her wardrobe towards the bed where Monty and Cupcake were sitting. Cupcake stared at Caleb, then shook her head slowly. Caleb laughed nervously and moved closer to the window where Jamie and Jack were standing.

"You said you saw a flash of orange right?" asked Pippa. Jack nodded. "Well so did I!" she continued excitedly. "Last night, I tapped on the mirror and someone was tapping back. It _must_ have been her!"

Jamie and Jack exchanged a glance, then Jamie moved forward and tapped on the mirror. The others watched in anticipation. Waited. Nothing.

"Hello?" called Jamie uncertainly, tapping the glass again.

"Are you sure you weren't just imagining things?" asked Monty hopefully.

"I'm not making it up! It really happened! It must be because we're all watching. She only did it back when I was turned around. Everyone close your eyes and I'll try again".

The kids looked at each other uncertainly, but one by one, they all closed their eyes. Jack smiled fondly at Jamie, who had his eyes squeezed shut so tightly. Then he looked over at Pippa, who was glaring at him impatiently.

"Sorry," he mumbled, hastily closing his own eyes. He heard Pippa sigh, then tap on the mirror three times. For a second nothing happened. Then…

 _Tap tap tap_

Jack's eyes flew opened and he stared at the mirror, but saw only the kid's faces reflected back.

"You just tapped on it when we had our eyes closed!" accused Claude.

"From _behind_ the mirror?" Pippa shot back.

"Well, how about Claude does it this time, and we'll all face away from the mirror, so we'll know if one of us is doing it or not, okay?" suggested Jamie. They all agreed that this was fair and turned to stare at Pippa's bed. Claude tapped a rhythm onto the mirror, then ran back to join the others. Silence, then…

 _Tap tap taptap tap_

Jack turned back to look at the mirror, as the kids all exclaimed excitedly. If it really _was_ Candy tapping back, then how was she doing it?

"Me next, me next!" called Jamie excitedly, rushing forward. The kids all quickly turned around as Jamie tapped out his rhythm, then ran back to join them.

 _Tap tap tap taptap-_

Jack glanced over his shoulder as he heard the answering rhythm start, and met the wide, frightened eyes of a young girl, dressed in orange. In a flash she was gone, the rhythm left unfinished.

"Wait!" called Jack, moved forward, hand pressed up against the mirror. But Candy was gone.

"What happened?" asked Jamie, a little dejectedly.

"Sorry, I turned around. I guess she really doesn't like being seen, huh?" said Jack apologetically.

"Maybe she's shy?" suggested Cupcake.

"Hello?" called Jamie softly, placing his hand on the glass and peering into it. "Candy? Don't be scared, we just want to talk to you. We're really excited to meet you! …are you still there?"

"What now?" asked Pippa.

"I guess she's not going to talk to us. Let's head back to school. There Fair will still be running," suggested Monty.

"Hey yeah, I want to try apple bobbing!" said Caleb excitedly, heading out the door.

"Yeah, hopefully the line's not so long now," continued Claude, following his brother down the stairs. The others all slowly followed, shuffling out the door. Jack hesitated, glancing back at the mirror.

"Jack? Are you coming?" called Jamie quietly.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm right behind you," answered Jack with a distracted smile. He moved towards the stairs, then raised an eyebrow as the younger boy suddenly darted past him, back into Pippa's room.

"You can come too, if you want. There's face painting, and apple bobbing, and a haunted house. Oh, and there's a Hall of Mirrors if, you know, you just want to watch. Um, okay. Well, see ya," Jamie finished awkwardly. Then he ran out of the room, grabbing Jack's arm and pulling the older boy down the stairs after him.

"Hey guys, wait for us!" he called.


End file.
